The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors announced on Saturday that if the Federal Government does not comply with its demands, it will begin peaceful protests on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.
The Federal Ministry of Health, the Office of the Federation’s Chief Civil Service, and the nation’s federal and state tertiary health institutes will all be picketed, according to NARD.
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The association informed the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Olufunso Adebiyi, in a circular captioned “Notice of nationwide mass protests and picketing by NARD.”
Dr. Emeka Orji, the association’s president, and Dr. Kelechi Chikezie, its secretary general, both signed the circular.
NARD embarked on an indefinite strike on July 26, 2023, following the expiration of a two-week ultimatum it issued to the government to meet its demands.
The doctors are demanding the implementation of the one-for-one replacement policy for healthcare workers; the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to discontinue the downgrading of the membership certificate issued by the West African Postgraduate Medical and Surgical Colleges; the immediate payment of all salary arrears; the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure; a new hazard allowance; and the domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act; among others.
Meanwhile, the FG had in a circular dated August 1, 2023, directed the Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors in the Federal Tertiary Hospitals to implement the ‘no work, no pay’ policy on the striking members of NARD.
